Nationals racing president Teddy Roosevelt comfortably beat rival William Howard Taft to the Black Hills of South Dakota on the eve of Presidents Day, but rather than head to Mt. Rushmore, Teddy opted to visit the Old Style Saloon #10 in Deadwood, South Dakota, where he tweeted “I just had to swing by. Hope this stop doesn’t lose me the race!”

Black Hills locals soon reported that Teddy had joined a poker game at the saloon, posting photos on Facebook Sunday afternoon.

Hours later, Taft tweeted from aboard a snowmobile, “Perfect, you stay in one place. I’ve got my eye on the prize and even found some help!”

Clearly both presidents will achieve their goal of reaching Mt. Rushmore by Presidents Day. Whether Teddy comes back to beat Taft remains to be seen, but one thing is certain. The Big Chief has a long way to go to catch up to the Rough Rider in the popularity department.

In the Nationals’ corresponding Twitter contest, Teddy’s vote count is more than double that of Bill.

Racing president William Howard Taft gained ground on Teddy Roosevelt late Friday evening as they both crossed the Illinois line after just one day of their race to Mt. Rushmore.

The Big Chief followed Teddy in tweeting from the border just before sunset, nearly 700 miles from the day’s starting point.

In a Nationals-sponsored Twitter contest, fans have been asked to use the hashtags #VoteBill or #VoteTeddy to show support for either Taft or Roosevelt. Teddy shot out to an early lead, but voting has been light, meaning a Taft comeback isn’t out of the question.

Given that one randomly selected user of each hashtag will win a private mascot appearance with that racing president, a vote for Taft right now is
carrying pretty nice odds.

Teddy continues to get triple the fan votes as his rival Taft in the corresponding Twitter contest, but at just 100 fan tweets as of Friday evening, one has to wonder whether the Nationals mascot team had higher expectations from their newly fabricated rivalry.

Racing president auditions will not be held on Presidents Day weekend this year.

The Washington Nationals announced this evening that they would break the tradition in order to promote their newly-conjured rivalry between racing president fan favorite Teddy Roosevelt and newcomer William Howard Taft.

The two presidents will take off Friday in a 4-day race to race to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, where they will meet up with their fellow racing presidents on Presidents Day.

The Nationals will promote the race as “Bill and Teddy’s Executive Adventure,” and ask fans on Twitter to use the hashtags #VoteBill or #VoteTeddy beginning Friday to pick their favorite. One supporter of each president will win a “private mascot appearance” with her choice.

The Nats had been mum about confirming the date for auditions, and now we know why. Ted and Bill’s road trip have pushed the auditions to Saturday, March 2.

Applicants have only until next Wednesday, February 20 to apply for the part-time summer position by sending a cover letter, resume and photo to entertainment@nationals.com.

As always, applicants must be adults between 5’7” and 6’ 6” in height, can handle wearing a 45-pound costume for hours, can commit to at least 35 home games, and can run 200 yards in 40 seconds or less (yes, that’s with the costume still on).

The Nationals typically select 50 to 60 applicants to be invited to auditions, in which they will race against each other, run a 40-yard dash, dance, and show their celebration skills.

For a sense of what’s in store, check out our video chronicle from last year’s auditions: